Point72 Europe London LLP Acquires Shares of 89,112 AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Point72 Europe London LLP has acquired a new position in AstraZeneca PLC, purchasing 89,112 shares valued at approximately $6.55 million in the first quarter.
• The company's stock recently opened at $79.90 with a market capitalization of $247.80 billion, and has a one-year price range between $61.24 and $87.68.
• AstraZeneca reported $1.09 earnings per share for its last quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, and its revenue of $14.46 billion exceeded estimates.

Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 89,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,550,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 297.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price target on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $82.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,203,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,577,911. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.58. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $85.99. The stock has a market cap of $254.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.37.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.505 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.97%.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.